*Pulling an all-nighter w/ City Cops... July 2009

*Overnight Tour w/ Newburgh, NY PD & NY State Police.
Friday July 10, 2009. 11:09PM


I spent part of an overnight shift last night with our beat reporter Doyle Murphy in the back of a cramped police SUV, touring the various neighborhoods here in my city, Newburgh, NY. Doyle and I have collaborated lately on a few of the big stories here in Newburgh, including the FBI bust of the terrorist bombers in May. Working a story like this brought back a ton of memories (no, I'm not a regular in the back of police cruisers...) but it did allow me to reminisce about a similar ride along I did with the PD in Seaside Heights, NJ about 16 years ago while working as a freelancer for the NY Times: (I'll have to pull a couple of those street images shot on film and build a comparison slideshow here) Requesting that the paper publishes the images in B/W. Have only had about 2 - 3 hours of sleep, as today started off covering the ongoing search with search & rescue dog teams for Laura Garza, who's been missing up here since last December.
Here's my take as a slideshow from the night w/ the Newburgh Police and NY State Troopers.

-cg.

*(Click the arrow at the bottom left of the player to start the slideshow, or click the image / or the arrows at lower left to scroll through the show manually. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player.)

"Down - Time..." Monday July 6, 2009.

What better way to clear my head a little after the working the tiring holiday summer weekend, than to head out to the airport and photograph aircraft...? Here's the scene: A beautiful July afternoon, my two Nikon D-1X bodies & long glass, and after a quick trip to the grocery store, I settled in to await approaching airplanes on short final and landing. Got lucky when a mammoth C-5A Galaxy cargo plane (above) arrived and touched down just after 4:15PM. Sweet. A beautiful set of images that have already been shipped to my editorial stock agency, THE IMAGE WORKS.

Besides the images of the C-5A, the photographs I made of civilian and commercial aircraft are good file images for work, the agency and can be used to illustrate business, economy, transportation and of course aviation stories. -cg.

"Did You (I) Work Hard Enough Today...?" July 4th. 2009 Weekend.

I occasionally find myself wondering if I've put enough into an assignment, workday, week, personal-project, whatever. You get the idea. This isn't a field where you can second guess your techniques and beliefs in creating images, and certainly not your equipment. Most of the time I have a finished image in my mind from a particular event, or some version of what I'm trying to accomplish. Working through this past 4th. of July weekend, I was faced with a broad range of assignments and picture possibilities, and choose to attack each opportunity aggressively.

Not to mention the nearly 400 miles I drove on Friday & Saturday to / from assignments. Saturday afternoon also allowed me to coordinate a freelancer's coverage up north in Sullivan County of an abducted baby case, which in turn developed into a story where the young father has now been charged with attempted murder. It's a good thing that our guy was available, and acting on instinct; I made the call from the newsroom on the holiday "to get him going..." Just like my old days on the photo desk at the NY Daily News, as an assignment editor a few years ago.
The longer I work in this business and continue to meet the daily challenges of being a newsphotographer, I continually realize the hurdles we face and have to overcome, sometimes literally at a moment's notice.
You know, stuff that doesn't show up in the boxscore, if you will. -cg.

Michael Joseph Jackson. Aug. 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009.

NEW YORK, NY USA. Michael Jackson pauses during a press conference at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network Headquarters in Harlem, NY on Saturday, July 6, 2002. Jackson joined Rev. Sharpton and other community leaders in support of an initiative to help protect the rights of recording artists against the unjust business practices of recording companies, such as SONY Records, headed by Tommy Mottola. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS.

*Although I never got to see Michael Jackson perform or photograph him in concert, I jumped at the opportunity to attend a press conference a few years ago at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network's HQ in Harlem.
When I worked as a photo-editor at the NY Daily News, a dear colleague of mine called me late the night before and I remember hustling to Manhattan from my Westchester apt., bringing along an aluminum step-ladder slung over my shoulder as I wanted to be high over the press photographer's heads clamoring for position when things got going. I knew I wanted to "lay back" with my 300mm and if memory serves, a tele-extender attached, to make a lot of my frames during the press conference. (Thanks for that 'heads-up' call, Budd Williams) Say what you will about Michael's personal antics later in his life, he always will be remembered as one of the world's greatest entertainers... -cg.

Kodachrome is retired by Eastman Kodak Co. 22•June•09

"Goodbye, Old friend..."

Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to take pictures. Like the pros. Used to cut out images from the major magazines, and literally tape them to my bedroom wall as a teenager growing up on the NJ Shore. I'd also collect these clippings in binders and committed to memory the name photographers of the day. When I began seriously shooting slide film back in the early 80's, Kodachrome was an automatic requirement, just like the big boys. I've run a lot of transparency films through my Nikons and Leica through the years, and nothing matched the consistency, tonal range, contrast and of course flesh tones that Kodachrome film stock provided. For me, Kodachrome Professional 64 (PKR-64) was the standard when I traveled internationally. With Kodak's announcement yesterday that they're discontinuing the film, it surely marks the end of an era for those of us that know.
Yea, like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, "I've always wanted to "take" pictures. Kodachrome "made" me a photographer... -cg.

Read about it here and here.




10:45PM: More on my Kodachrome images:


After quickly producing the images of my mounted & unmounted archived Kodachrome slides earlier this morning, I was quite pleased to see that my editorial stock agency, THE IMAGE WORKS posted the files within the hour on their main search page. Nice work, guys. Now let's hope for a few "bites" from their clients on any of these images. -cg.

"Back to the Ballpark..." 17•June•09

It was kind of fun to return to a pro ballpark yesterday for a minor baseball team's media day. Even it was only a Class A Short Season team here in our area, The Hudson Valley Renegades. There's still something nice about arriving to a ballpark or arena when it's empty, and you're there to work. Maintenance crews on riding mowers, others doing touch-up painting around the field, and a bucket truck behind the outfield wall hoisting an electrician high to make scoreboard inspections and repairs, are all part of the behind the scenes look before Friday's opening night game.
I found myself reminiscing about the days when I'd covered the Yankees, Mets, Knicks, and Nets' media days at their respective practice facilities with the hordes of NYC photographers and national media types too. (Yes, including MLB Spring Training & exhibition games down in FL years ago for the NY teams.) Not to mention the 5+ years of MLB baseball I'd covered as a staff photographer at The Journal News in the mid-90's and as a lead photo-editor at the NY Daily News, where I'd helped to coordinate our team of 5 staff photographer's coverage during the Yankee playoffs earlier this decade. To put it in sort of perspective - I've seen a lot of baseball. Bringing a full set of Dyna-Lite strobes, complete with the full assortment of stands, clamps, umbrellas, gaffer's tape, Pocket-Wizards, cords, and obviously more gear than I'd realistically need still made the mid-morning assignment fun.
I'd rehearsed in my head that I'd arrive at least an hour and a half early and tape up a small piece of white seamless paper in the dugout to make headshots of the players, and portraits on the field. Everything worked out well when there were two electrical outlets right near the bullpen telephones in the home team's dugout. I'd even brought two long heavy duty extension cords and a multi-plug surge protector. I knew I wanted to at least make my head shots "tight & bright" on a low ISO, so I'd need power for the strobe. Otherwise I'd be forced to use the small portable strobes, although I knew they wouldn't allow me to continually shoot at the high power setting I'd need to get f/8 or higher at ISO 100 or so. Thank goodness for the little things.
The players were great. Some as young as 19 years old, (like opening night pitcher Albert Suarez from Venezuela at left) and first year manager Brady Williams (below) is the son of a long time major league manager, Jimmy Williams.
I'm hoping we get to cover a few of the Renegades' games this season, and hopefully even a behind the scenes look at a "Day in the Life" take on the team when they go on the road - which of course is only in the tri-state area. I'm sure they just travel to games by bus, so thinking ahead and already mentioning this to the sports editor, I know it'd be a good opportunity to produce a multi-media slideshow with audio. The team boasts a few good prospects, so I'm guessing a few of them have a good shot at making it to the big leagues sometime down the road. Stay tuned. -cg.

*My photo in NEED Magazine blog. June 2009

*It means the world to me that one of my photographs appears in NEED Magazine's grass roots campaign "Screw the Man - Save the World" where they're using powerful imagery to help encourage readership & subscriptions, thereby helping to eliminate corporate ("the Man") advertising altogether. This image was made in April 2006 while on a volunteer mission with Operation Smile in Amman, Jordan treating 100 Iraqi children from Baghdad with facial deformaties. For the last ten years I've tirelessly volunteered my time in documenting missions with Operation Smile all over the world, and needless to say, this was a very emotional mission for me to be a part of... -cg.

More info on the campaign, NEED Magazine & Operation Smile here:
stm-stw.blogspot.com/
www.needmagazine.com/
www.operationsmile.org/

*(Original Caption) AMMAN, JORDAN. An Iraqi mother watches as doctors and support staff with Operation Smile treat her child at the Jameel Tatonji Hospital in Amman, Jordan on Monday, April 24, 2006. An Operation Smile team of international medical volunteers were in Jordan from April 20-29 providing free medical evaluations and reconstructive surgery to Iraqi children suffering with facial deformities. This marked the third mission during which Operation Smile medical volunteers have worked in Amman to treat children from Iraq. Operation Smile Jordan, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the Jordanian Society for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, has organized missions providing surgeries to more than 700 Jordanian and Iraqi children since 2000. Operation Smile of Norfolk, VA has provided free facial reconstructive surgery to children and young adults in 30 countries the last 24 years. © Chet Gordon for Operation Smile.

BDA. "Like Nowhere else on the Planet..." June 2009.

Finally getting around to posting a brief slideshow of my week in Bermuda (BDA) last week. It is the only destination I know of so close to home where I can still get lost visually, and almost spiritually if you will. It's always a well-deserved treat to return to the island. It is just so relaxing to re-explore some of the most beautiful beaches I know of anywhere, zip around the island on a scooter, watch a little cricket, of course have my fill of "Dark & Stormies™..."

Cheers, -cg.

*(Click the arrow at the bottom left of the player to start the slideshow, or click the image / or the arrows at lower right to scroll through the show manually. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. There is no audio with this brief slideshow.)

2009 West Point Graduation *(by the numbers...) 23•May•09

Graduating cadets toss their covers skyward during the United States Military Academy 2009 Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony at Michie Stadium in West Point, NY on Saturday, May 23, 2009. 970 cadets received their diplomas and were commissioned as 2nd. Lieutenants in the U.S. Army. Times Herald-Record/CHET GORDON

This past Saturday was my third West Point graduation. With a such a hectic week behind me - in covering the foiled Newburgh bombing plot, and the fun hot-air balloon flight the previous Friday - I was finally looking forward to the annual "big one." There's something particularly special about working at West Point. I know I use buzz words like "special" a lot, but covering an event like the United States Military Academy's graduation is truly what it's all about, since I've been here at the paper. West Point is our big leagues; our Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, and Meadowlands Arena, if you will - all wrapped up into one campus environment. Hey, wait a minute - those are all familiar venues in my career as well. Throw in the military traditions, pomp & circumstance, and pageantry and you just can't miss as a photographer. There is a lot of mental preparation that goes into my graduation day coverage at West Point. Details: I remember standing in a Lowe's hardware mega-store the night before comparing the differences between a set of black or white heavy duty plastic ties I'd need to help secure my remote cameras. (I went with a bag of the black 24" version this time.) Media personnel were required to wear "slacks & a collared shirt" so I'd even considered shopping for an inexpensive pair of khakis, but found a serviceable pair at home that I could get dirty during the day. Hardware: Sometime the night before I lay out all the gear I'll bring with me before packing up. It's just an old military thing with me. Attaching and re-attaching the camera plates for the magic-arms, cleaning the lenses, and of course checking all the Pocket-Wizard cords and firing the remote cameras in various combinations. This year all the pre-shoot checks went on until about 1AM. Then a 4:30AM wake-up call follows, as this certainly isn't a day I can afford to be rushed out of the house and down to the stadium. Working media are required to arrive in the press parking lot on post by 7AM. By the time I pick up my credentials and load my trusty cart full of gear onto a press van, I'm on the field by 7:20AM or so, inspecting where I'd like to install my low-angle remote camera in the benches where the graduating cadets will sit. Access: This is the second year the West Point Public Affairs folks have allowed me this opportunity to install a remote camera for a different view of the traditional "hat toss" (top photo), so I'm very grateful. By 8AM I begin installing a second remote in the north end zone stands with a 70mm - 200mm zoom lens pointing back down at the graduating cadets seating area, which I thought might make a nice third view of the "hat toss" as a vertical image. Ironically, none of the images from that camera resulted in anything I particularly liked.
(Last year it rained heavily just 20 minutes before the jubilation moment.) We had clear skies all morning this time, although there was a moving cloud cover again and a few faint raindrops about halfway into the ceremony. I kept my fingers secretly crossed during the ceremony, as I hadn't covered the remote cameras in plastic bags. We had really good access on the field, which provided a few new views of the ceremony for the media types. It's also pretty sweet to have literally unlimited access to the Foley Athletic Center (the indoor practice facility for the football team) where the cadets spend their final few moments before formally marching to nearby Michie Stadium. Plenty of good feature images to be made there, as some cadets are actually napping with their white cotton gloves over their faces, etc. Imagery that the general public doesn't ordinarily get to see. Cadet "march-on" time is 9:40AM. This is also where the "game clock" officially starts running for me.

Multimedia: Here's a simple slideshow of the day - everything from "soup to nuts" in covering the graduates' day at the nation's premiere military institution:*(Click the arrow at the bottom left of the player to start the slideshow, or click the image / or the arrows at lower right to scroll through the show manually. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. There is no audio with this brief slideshow.)

I've thought quietly to myself the past few days how some of these new 2nd. Lieutenants will go on to storied and decorated Army careers - some heading to areas of conflict in the world today, with some even seeing combat. As we all are well aware, some may not come back...

"It does this old Marine proud to work the West Point Commencement and Commissioning ceremony again..." -cg.

"The FBI..." 21•May•09

It always starts with a phone call.*(For good assignments & good pictures) Never fails. You take the call. Here's the scene at home, as best as I can remember - 11PM or so - I was settling-in and nodding off with the headphones on, watching a movie on the Mac, totally engrossed with the second DVD of a gift box set of the old TV series "Homicide: Life On The Street." Ironic that it would be our street reporter Doyle Murphy calling at 11:26PM. (we've been covering the homicides & funerals here in Newburgh the last 2 years - see my earlier posts here on the blog) Ironic too that I'd left the work cell phone turned up loud enough to even hear it ring on the windowsill just inches from my head. "State Police SWAT teams have Broadway closed uptown, and had I heard about the bomb plot earlier that day...?" He asked. "What?" I replied as I sat up like a bolt. (I'd been out all day Wednesday on the usual hectic Spring day in our coverage area and finished up covering HS championship golf up in Poughkeepsie. I'd even made an attempt to get to bed a little earlier Wednesday night because I was facing another hot day on Thursday morning in Kingston for a HS championship track meet...) Little did I know, I'd be up all night right in my city, and then with literally no sleep (Note: less than 2 hours) back down in White Plains in Westchester County, with all the NYC media, staking out the federal courthouse, hoping for even a glimpse of these four "terrorists" who had been arrested on charges of shooting down military aircraft here at Stewart Air National Guard Base, and bombing synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. "Yea man, I'm up. I'll be there in 15 minutes..." It was classic NYC style hustle to jump into my clothes, grab enough gear and speed up Broadway. I'd actually passed the second scene with heavily armed FBI agents outside the tenament building on Broadway & Lutheran Streets. "Wow..." I remember murmuring to myself. Serious shit. I reached the scene at 11:40PM or so and immediately began making pictures as best I could under the street lights. Pumped up the ISO on the Canon 5D Mark II to 3200. Steadied the camera on the back corner of a Caddy Escalade to make the top image. Told Doyle about the scene down at the other end of Broadway I'd passed. We headed down there, and I made frames there - this time with the ISO pumped up to 5000. Was kind of bummed at myself, as I'd forgotten the monopod & 300mm f/2.8 (used for golf that day, and for track on Thursday...) Keeping the newsdesk editors informed of what we were seeing, I knew I had time to get back home and move a few images to make the later editions of the paper, and web stories. Back home by 12:20AM and sent in these first two images at 12:36AM. Got back on the street (this time with the 300mm & monopod) and began making images of what appeared to be at least 20 armed FBI agents milling around. It was now after 1AM.
We stayed at this scene past 3AM, moving around the neighborhood, looking for different views of the building, and at times even joking with one of the Newburgh City Police detectives, and a talkative FBI agent in plainclothes who ventured across the Broadway to chat us up. Made images of the agents removing evidence from the building (images I'd made countless times on stories in NYC through the years), so I knew we'd have something that no other media would have.









We "owned" that scene for a few hours - well past 3AM. No coffee needed for this all-nighter. Adrenaline was keeping us on top of our game. This was going to be big. Really big. I eventually left the area around 3:30AM and was too keyed up to go right to bed. Decided to edit my second take from out on the street, and sent in 9 more images at 4:32AM. If memory serves, I was back in the bed a little after 5AM, as the morning birds were already chirping and the morning glow of sunrise was already on the horizon...

*Jump to early Thursday morning. Another phone call - this time from the boss. "Pictures look good. You should head to White Plains for the arraignment of these guys.." Great I'm thinking. This could all work out and I might get to see one of the perps if the authorities move them to / from the federal courthouse in Westchester (some 70 miles south of me - and right in the heart of my old coverage area at the Journal News in the '90's. )


Now, on literally no sleep - I'd call it a hard nap actually, here I was racing down the highway to another stakeout. The uniform of the day would be shorts, as I'd knew it'd be a long wait. The suspects were already in the fortress of a courthouse, so the all day waiting game began. No breaks, no bathrooms, only an occasional food run by the assembled media types. The only pictures to made here were of the lawyers speaking to the press, and the US Marshal's Service vans transporting these individuals into / out of the building.
Smoked van windows and a drive-in sally port proved to eliminate any views of the subjects. I was on the scene for 9 hours, before heading to a Kinkos in the city to send in my photos from the day's take.

Forget about the time factor, workday hours and just silently make the commitment to yourself to stay on the scene, keep your antennae up to cover an event like this.

Chatting it up with old photo colleagues from Westchester and NYC, TV cameramen, and other reporters helped the time pass by too. (the stories shared among longtime journalists are great & the jokes just as scathing.) Just like the old days... -cg.